First Mate

I spent the weekend camping on the Bluestone with Bella, Melissa and the in-laws. I always look forward to this trip. It's always a time to break out my favorite toys (i.e. boats, camping equipment, fishing tackle, etc.) and break in some new ones. I enjoy spending time with Joe and Bec as I always seem to pick up some neat skills from being around them. Whether it be how to throw a cast net or a good camp recipe there's always something new I pick up on these trips. The older Bella is getting the more she is enjoying going camping. Not only is she easier to watch than when she was younger she also wants to be more involved. She had a big time this year swimming, going on boat rides, playing with her sidewalk chalk and fishing. We didn't fish much together the first day she was there and she made it clear that she wanted to go so first thing the following morning when we woke up I loaded the boat and off we went. I headed for a cove near the dam where I knew the fishing was good and where we could get out of the wind. I couldn't help but smile as we drove there and Bella kept saying "go faster, go faster." We saw a bald eagle circling low doing some fishing of his own. Bella got a real kick out of that. We didn't fish for too long as I knew she would eventually want to go back to camp and play, but the time we spent there was productive. I would cast the line out, hook the fish then had the rod to Bella to reel it in. She really enjoyed this and the mighty Bluegill has fast become her favorite fish. I could tell she had a blast from the excited way she told her fishing story to her MawMaw and PawPaw. I'm looking forward to many more of these trips in the future with my first mate.

Deep Sea Adventure!

Melissa's best friend Colleen was getting married in the Dominican Republic and we were invited to spend a week with them at the beautiful Dreams resort in Punta Cana. I have always wanted to go deep sea fishing and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Several species were active this time of year so I booked an excursion. Unfortunately our first attempt was destined to fail as stormy weather and rough seas caused our first booking to be canceled, so we rescheduled for the next day. The weather was better, but the seas were still rough as it was reported that there were 9-12 foot swells. Colleen’s husband Brian, Melissa, and I met with Roberto, the first mate of the boat we would be fishing from. Roberto was a short, stocky charismatic man who was entertaining, engaging and you could tell was a very seasoned fisherman. He explained that we would be pursuing Dorado (Mahi Mahi) as they preferred the choppy seas. White Marlin were also running at the time; however, they favor calmer water on the surface and would be difficult to attract at that time. Roberto explained that we would be going roughly 20 miles from shore and would be trolling with a five rod spread trailing a bait fish. I was very excited to get underway. Little did I know what I was truly in for, had I known I may have reconsidered signing up for this trip. It wasn’t very long into the trip when Brain began to feel the effects of the rough seas. I remember feeling bad for him, and then I began to notice that I was starting to feel sick myself. If you couldn’t make it to the side of the boat to throw up there were buckets available, which we kept near us at all times. Melissa was the last to get sick, and while she fared better than Brain and I did it certainly was no picnic for her either. Eventually some Mahi did hit and I forced myself to rally. On one occasion two Mahi hit at the same time on separate rods and Melissa and I each took a chair fighting the fish together; which at the time was hard to appreciate due to the seasickness, but as I look back on it now it is truly something I will always cherish, my wife and I fighting two monster fish together. Truly this was the largest fish I had ever fought, as well as, the longest amount of time I had ever fought a single fish. Again, it was hard to appreciate this at the time because during the course of the whole fight I was both nauseated and dehydrated. There was one moment when I almost had the fish close enough for the gaff but he bolted before we could land him taking out all the line I had worked so hard to bring in, prolonging both the fish’s misery and my own. While there is a certain amount of shame that I bear for my total lack of constitution on the open seas I was left with a little consolation in regards to the amount of grit I had to get up off the floor, as sick as I was, and fight the brute of a fish as well as I did. I have to take this moment to comment on Brian’s fortitude as well. While all of this was unfolding and as sick as he was, he managed to fight through it and get some really great pictures. He didn’t have to do that and I would have certainly understood if he had chosen to just lay down, but he didn’t and for that I am grateful. Roberto and the Captain were great and were able to gaff and land the fish with all the speed and efficiency that only true seasoned professionals possess. After that it was time for pictures and then back to the hotel to go to bed. I don’t know if I’ll ever try something like that again. If I do I’ll certainly take more precautions to prevent seasickness. Either way I have some great memories and some outstanding pictures thanks to Brian.

Bella's First Fishing Trip

Bella has finally gotten old enough to take fishing. She's talked a lot about it as she has played with her Barbie fishing pole in the house, but until now has never actually caught a fish. On this particular Sunday afternoon Austin and I took our girls up to the Wykle pond to try and catch some bluegills. Nighcrawlers with a bobber were the bait of choice. Bella is still a little too small to cast the bait very far or set the hook, so much of that work was left to me. I have to admit I have never considered the challenges faced in using an undersized Barbie fishing rod before. I had to add a sinker just to be able to cast is more than five feet. Once hooked Bella was more than eager to reel the fish in. She did a great job and was very inqusitive about the fish, wanting to touch it and be the one that released it. There were no bass to be had that day, but I had more fun catching bluegills with Bella than I ever would have bass fishing alone. I look forward to more fishing excersions with her in the future and am eager to take her bluegill fishing on the lake this summer. The girls had a really good time as did I.

Ice Fishing Part Deux

Route Hiked from Parking Lot to River and Back

With Christmas and New Year's over and cabin fever setting in Austin and I headed up to the Bluestone in pursuit of trout again, because there isn't much else to do this time of year. As was the case this time last year we were again hit with a severe cold snap, and like last year much of the river was frozen over. This time however, we were presented with different challenges. Less of the river was frozen over than it was last year, with the exception of a few spots, and you could still walk out onto the ice a good way but you couldn't get as close to the edge as you could the previous year. This made releasing fish and working lures challenging at times. It was anything but unproductive though. One of the first things we saw at the river bank was a bald eagle surveying the scene from the air, perhaps doing some fishing of his own. There was also plenty of animal sign from coyote, raccoon, deer and turkey tracks, as well as, an ominous scene of blood and hair covered snow no doubt where a pack of coyotes cornered a deer. The fishing was pretty good considering the circumstances. It rained off and on all day and there was a cold dampness in the air that you could feel in your bones. In-line spinners were the weapon of choice (surprise, surprise) as the fish weren't interested in jigs. All together I caught 11 rainbows and Austin caught 8 with several other bites that got away. The most interesting fish of note was one around 20 inches in length and in the 4 pound category that I caught. I had been fishing the edge of an ice shelf and had several trout follow my lure up the the edge of the ice then turn away. I cast it out again and worked it back slowly letting it sink as much as possible. I noticed a couple of smaller trout chase after the lure then dart away as a lunker, that had been hiding under the ice, came straight up from the depths in a mad dash for my little spinner. It reminded me of shark week where Great Whites rocket up from the depths and ambush their unsuspecting prey. This fish swam straight for the lure and then at the last second turned to the side. I thought I missed my chance, and would probably hook a smaller opportunistic fish waiting for its chance when the brute double backed and attacked the lure. A minute or two later I had it flopped up on the ice and was posing for a picture. It was a very good day, one I hope to repeat in the near future. Another interesting point of note was that I brought my smartphone with me that has an app that tracks your GPS location, distance traveled, elevation change and time. It was very interesting. I had no idea that this trip we have made many times over the years is nearly 7 miles (6.91 on this particular trip) with an elevation change of 1,269 feet! It was pretty interesting to see the numbers and a pretty good way to ring in a new year. Here's to catching many more fish in 2011!

Bluestone Trout Fishing Year 4 Round 2

We had such a blast catching trout the week before that Austin and I tried it again a few days later. Conditions were a little tougher this time around as the water was gin clear and a full 2 feet lower than the week before, not to mention that the sun was out in full force. It didn't seem to hurt our ability to catch fish though. We ended up catching a total of 91 between the two of us. Most of the catch came off ofpinners with a few from hair jigs. This time we actually brought fly rods and gave that a go. Although we got a few to rise on dry flies it proved largely ineffective due to the clarity of the water, the brightness of the sun, and the difficulty of casting near the bank. I think in the future I'll just stick to my spinning tackle.

Bluestone Trout Fishing Year 4

Well it's year four of the great trout experiment in the Bluestone River. We found out that WVU finished their study last year and would not be stocking the Bluestone anymore. Fortunatlly the State has taken it over this year, and hopefully from now on. We got some information that a stocking was taking place this week so Nathan, Austin and I decided to hike in and see what kind of trout action there was. We packed a lunch and left before daylight as this was going to be an all day affair. It was hard to tell what to expect. When we first arrived we were pounded with snow, which turned to rain as we decended into the valley. It rained off and on (mostly on) throughout the day; however having the right kind of rain gear and insullation makes all of the difference between having a fun comfortable time and being completly miserable. This trip was absolutly ridiculious. I thought last year was insane when Austin and I caught over 50 fish apiece. The size of the average fish was a little smaller this year, but the numbers were just crazy. All three of us caught about 30 fish a piece before we left the first hole. We fished spinners primarly with Austin and Nathan switching to hair jigs. I considered switching to a jig as well, but I figured if it isn't broke don't fix it. I like the action of a spinner and its ability to cover lots of water really quick so I stuck with that. In addition, the stinger hook trailing behind a spinner makes unhooking the fish a little more difficult, but it also betters your chances at hooking the fish in the first place as many of them would just nip at what was thrown to them. Truth be told these fish would have hit just about anything thown to them, and the fishing skill required to catch these trout was virtually non-existant. Obvisiouly the stream was overstocked with nearly 2000 pounds of trout in the little 2 to 3 mile stretch of river to accomindate the patrons of paying trips. This is clearly not sustainable, but as long as they keep stocking it we'll keep fishing it. The average fish that was caught was 12-18 inches long; however, Nathan managed to catch a couple really nice ones. One measuered in at 24 inches and the other at 20 inches long. These two fish provided a great excuse to use my new net, which proved invaluable in landing them. One good thing is that we didn't see any otters. That doesn't mean that they aren't there, but hopefully they've at least moved on to somewhere else. Nathan had to cut his trip a little short and left after catching and releasing a total of 65 fish. Austin and I stayed another hour or two and ended up catching and releasing 101 a piece. These numbers are ridiculious by any standards and only go to show how easiley anyone could catch them, but it was fun all the same and a nice change of pace when you've had slow days where you're lucky just to land one fish.

Cast and Blast

On a very cold October morning Austin and I headed up the Bluestone Lake to try our hand at some fall turkey hunting. We got there a little after 7am and cruised around the lake listening for turkeys. After a while we did hear some along the bank and proceeded to call them in closer. It didn't work however as the turkeys went silent. We didn't see or hear any more the rest of the day, so we decided to pass our time by fishing. The weather warmed up considerably throughout the day, and while the fishing wasn't a whole lot better I did manage to catch a mudcat and Austin caught a few nice smallmouth. All of the fish were caught by flipping a jig-n-pig near the bank.

Buggs Island Fall Fishing

Buggs Island turned out to be a neat adventure. Austin and some of his friends usually make this trip in the spring where they spend 7 days fishing the lake. On this occasion I decided to accompany him for a 3 day trip in the fall. The fishing has been terrible this year on the Bluestone and it was a bit refreshing to go someplace new and try my hand at some different tactics. At around 55,000 acres this by far has been the largest lake that I have fished on. The forecast was to be cloudy with a chance of rain each of the 3 days we were there. Boy, did they get that wrong. It was mostly sunny the whole time, which in combination with the considerable wind resulted in some mild sunburn and wind chaffing. It didn't have the negative effect that I thought it would on the fishing though. Everyone caught pretty good numbers each day. The primary methods Austin and I employed were jigging (with either shaky head worms or a crawfish jig-n-pig) and shad colored spinnerbaits working them across underwater points jutting out from the bank. This one two punch of jig and spinnerbait worked quite effectively. The jigs were very productive and the spinnerbaits proved invaluable when the wind kicked up too much to adequately fish a jig. Our first day was spent in the Essex Branch of an offshoot of the lake called Grassy Creek. The water was rising a little throughout the day and I was amazed at how shallow the fish were. Most of our catch came in 1-2 feet of water or less. We also fished an area called Little Beaver Creek with mixed results catching 14 bass total between us that day and losing nearly that many on thrown lures and bad hook sets. The next day we fished a place called Rudd's Creek where we struggled until ultimately heading back to Essex to finish the day out with 19 fish one of which was a chain pickerel that Austin caught. Our last day there was by far the most successful. We went to a place called, ironically, Bluestone Creek. The wind was most difficult that day and spinnerbaits were used heavily with intermittent jig work during calmer periods. We ended up with 25 fish that day. Austin caught a small striper in addition to his bass and a walleye, which I have yet to catch. I caught all bass that day but they were nice ones, one of which was upwards of 4 pounds. I don't think we would have won any tournaments but I think we would have had a more than respectable showing. I look forward to going back some day.

Claytor Lake Grand Slam

Austin and I made our first trip of the year to Claytor Lake. It was perfect weather for fishing, mild temperatures coupled with overcast skies, a slight breeze and warm water made for and enjoyable and comfortable experience. The fish weren't hitting lights out, but the bite was pretty steady. Early in the day we caught several fish on top water lures such as buzz baits and Zara Puppies. Later I switched to my in-line spinners to go after fish in shallow water just below the surface and caught several spotted bass, as well as, a decent little large mouth. I even managed to catch a small striper on a crawl fish colored 300 series bandit crank bait. We were fishing near a submerged man made fish structure when the striper hit the crank bait just as I had nearly retrieved it all the way to the boat. As the day wore on the bite slowed down, but picked up a little in the evening as we switched to more finesse baits like Senkos. We fished them slow around structure and caught a few more fish before the day was through. We ended up catching a dozen a piece. I even managed a grand slam (catching four different species in one trip) which included spotted bass, largemouth bass, red eye, and a hybrid. It was a very enjoyable trip and I look forward to going back later in the summer for our usual bluegill assault.